ND/509 January Timeline
<-- Full --> ; - 12th of January 509 to 13th of January 509 :The PCs meet the Dwarfs but get a cold shoulder. ; - 14th of January 509 to 21st of January 509 : , , , , , and spend a few days waiting impatiently at the Dwarf garrison at Godknurl pass. Then they convince the Minotaur elements of the garrison to strike out against the weakened Orc forces that are cut off from their supplies by 's irregulars at Subbungansh. At Brigadier Mel's urging, they manage to get some support from a few independent minded Dwarfs. :On the 18th, Ariana summons an army of earth elementals from the bones of the pass and Sven leads the combined force against the Orc defenses under the cover a raging snowstorm. Nesta, Hloomawl, and Nayla manage to take one of the gate towers before the Orc wizards and priests manage to dispell Ariana's elementals, and the Minotaurs are behind soon behind them. The Dwarfs, though upset by the insubordination of the Minotaurs, are not foolish enough to pass up this opportunity and reinforce the successful results. The Orcs, believing they are facing a reconnaissance in force, or perhaps a heavy raid, are slow to respond to the assault and are soon overwhelmed. With the Imps grounded by the snowstorm and the Minotaur oursry faster than the remaining Orcs, the Orcs choose to hold up in a third line tower and sell their lives as dearly as possible. The combined army stands off and devastates the Orcs from a distance, aside from Captain Beham's oursry, which heads down the pass to secure the mouth. Only a few hundred wounded Orcs survive to surrender. :As the sun rises on the 21st, the Godknurl pass is free of organized Imperial forces for the first time in centuries. ; - 21st of January 509 to 27th of January 509 : , , , , , and are brought into the presence of the Dwarfen General of the Wall Dorli Steelguard. Dorli thanks them for the victory, buts claims there is a prophesy that Dread Lord won't be defeated for another 400 years and their efforts are futile, as many of the other portents haven't been fulfilled. He acknowledges their success, and gives them two signal stones to help co-ordinate an attack on Gravecall's Legion in . :While they are conversing with Dorli, his troops start massacring some fleeing Kobolds. Cartwright and Ariana intervene and manage to save most of them, but Dorli orders them out of the pass in three days and then his troops will continue exterminating any vermin. :Dorli proceeds to commend the Dwarfen and Minotaur leaders that participated in the action, then reduce them in ranks for abandoning their posts and dereliction of duty. Jarl Mel is philosophical about her demotion, and sends Beham and some other Minotaurs to the Liberation. She decides to stay in the Safeholds for now, preparing for the defeat of Gravecall or the liberation of Mengku and the Minotaur exodus. Former aviator lieutenant Thorin, having been demoted to non-flying duties, agrees to defect to the Liberation with his arcanothopter, but expects Ariana to maintain the strange device. : :The Resistance leaders head southwest out of the pass, gathering Kobolds and supplies as they go. They cross the desert and are met by Lars and Hawkins, a pair of Kellhound scouts, outside of Subbangansh. Local Resistance leader Maya and Optio Kohlmann left to besiege Geshoguten on the 22nd, before the Godknurl Orcs arrived, and took several weeks of Imperial supplies with them. Sven immediately leads an all-out assault on the five companies of Orcs at Subbangansh. The senior Orc captain cannot believe that a company of Minotaurs supported by ragtag Kobolds would attempt to take the fortress in a coup de main, and deploys his forces poorly. By midnight on the 27th, Subbangansh has fallen again and the Resistance leaders begin to plot their next moves. ; - 28th of January 509 to 12th of February 509 : , , , , , and take their forces to Geshoguten and overrun the Orcs there in an overnight battle on the 2nd. Most of the Kobolds choose to settle there, but Decurio Zux manages to keep a ragtag platoon of engineers with her. The remaining Resistance forces head west, hoping to hit the Ibbuzogo-Sushutaishy road and then follow the Sushutaishy valley to Hairidunny. :Halfway there, they are spotted by an Orc regiment, dispatched from Gurogeba, to deal with the issues at Subbanggansh. Many of the Orcs continue on east, but a several crack companies under a Tusked Banner Taeza's standard turn north to pursue the refugees. Despite several attempts to shake them, it's soon clear that the Goblin Wolfriders have the trail and are slowly overtaking the refugees. At the Ibbuzogo-Sushutaishy road, Sven and Cartwright set an ambush for the pursuers. Tusked Banner Taeza Brong is ambushed, but breaks contact immediately rather than see his troops destroyed in a losing fight. : :The refugees abandon their wagons and begin a desperate forced march south to Hairdunny. Nesta tries and fails to contact the Resistance forces at Uran Padoru, but an Orc regiment somewhere to the south is blocking the magic. On the 11th, the extent of the refugees' predicament is clear: the Imperial General at Gurogeba is approaching from the east with nearly two regiments, and there's another Orc regiment blocking the only line of retreat to west. At noon on the 12th, they reach the Hairidunny road, but it's clear they'll be overrun by the Gurogeba forces shortly after nightfall.